The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a Rs 22,810-crore outlay for a new employment scheme — Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana — that aims at encouraging businesses to do fresh hiring.
The Cabinet also approved a framework for the proliferation of public Wi-Fi networks through the PM WANI scheme.
Under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana, the Government will for two years provide employee and employer contribution to the retirement fund for new hires by businesses and entities, Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar said. The scheme would till 2023 entail an outgo of Rs 22,810 crore and would benefit around 58.5 lakh employees.
"The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given its approval for Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana to boost employment in formal sector and incentivize creation of new employment opportunities during the COVID recovery phase under Atmanirbhar Bharat Package 3.0," an official statement said.
The Cabinet has approved an expenditure of Rs 1,584 crore for the current financial year and Rs 22,810 crore for the entire Scheme period - 2020-2023, it added.
Under the scheme, the government will provide subsidy for two years in respect of new employees engaged on or after October 1, 2020,and up to June 30, 2021, Labour Minister Santosh Gangawar said in a briefing on the Cabinet decision.
The Government will pay both 12 per cent employees' contribution and 12 per cent employers' contribution i.E. 24 per cent of basic wages towards EPF (employees provident fund) in respect of new employees in establishments employing up to 1,000 employees for two years.
PM Wi-Fi Access Network Interface (PM WANI) would unleash a massive Wi-Fi revolution in the country, Prasad said. This would entail a complete framework involving multiple elements -- Public Data Office (PDO), Public Data Office Aggregators and app providers. "No licence, no registration, and no fee would be applicable for the PDOs, which could be small shops or even Common Service Centres,"Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters after the meeting of the Cabinet.
The Cabinet has also approved the laying of undersea submarine optical fibre cable to provide high-speed broadband to Lakshadweep, he said. The project, approved by the Union Cabinet, entails provision of a direct communication link through a dedicated submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) between Kochi and 11 islands of Lakshadweep -- Kavaratti, Kalpeni, Agati, Amini, Androth, Minicoy, Bangaram, Bitra, Chetlat, Kiltan and Kadmat.
"The estimated cost of implementation is about Rs 1,072 crore including operational expenses for 5 years. The project would be funded by Universal Service Obligation Fund," an official release said. The project is expected to be completed by May 2023.